Getting An Earful
by VGS2 the sexy sausage
Summary: Now dating, Pikachu and Buneary hope to make a good impression on each other's fathers with a nice picnic lunch. However, the union might not be quite what they were expecting... much to the dismay of Pikachu's worrying heart.
1. Spring Breeze

**Chapter 1:** _Spring Breeze_

* * *

With a heave, Pikachu flung a big, red, checkered cloth over the grassy ground. Once the cloth settled, he moved around it, straightening any folds he found.

Taking several steps back, he made a box shape with his fingers while holding out his arms. The same thing an artist would do while framing their craft. He'd made sure to position it right next to a large, blossoming apple tree, which looked radiant under the afternoon sun above. Altogether, the entire set-up looked almost perfect!

… Still, it wouldn't hurt to give it another look-over. Wasting no time, he began to walk around the cloth again, this time on all fours, to have a closer look at the edges. Everything had to be absolutely spot on for the upcoming date! He would never forgive himself if anything went even _slightly_ wrong, what with the first impressions he had to make today…

As he suspiciously eyed up what looked to be a small crumple, he suddenly heard some feminine giggling coming from behind him. "[Enjoyin' yerself, there?]" the girl asked, sounding very amused.

Recognizing the voice, he immediately stood up and turned around to face his girlfriend, who was lugging around a large picnic basket. "[Ah! Oh, er, hey, Buneary!]" he greeted, scratching his head and chuckling embarrassedly. "[Just… making sure everything's all good to go! Eheh…]"

She giggled again. "[If ya say so!]"

She set down the picnic basket, allowing him to see what she'd decided to wear. Looking at her, his eyes widened in wonderment. Wow… it was impossible to stop himself from staring. She was wearing a vibrant green dress, which went over the top of the puffy fluff on her waist. He thought that it really complemented her lovely, chocolate brown fur perfectly...

She also had lots of colorful flowers adorning the bright vanilla fluff on the tips of her ears. It was like a lovely garden that would even make Olimar envious.

He felt his heart beat faster. She almost looked like a goddess of nature… Something that he would never admit out loud. Not unless he wanted some endless teasing from her.

Noticing him staring in wonder, she gave a spin and a wink. "[Like what'cha see? Dawn helped me fix it up for the date!]" She tapped her paws together. "[Well… more like she made it and I just picked out a color, but… y'know.]"

After a pause, he shook his head to bring himself back to reality. "[O-Oh, yeah. Absolutely!]" He smiled at her as his face warmed. "[I didn't know you could be even prettier, but hey, look how wrong I was!]"

Her cheeks began to redden heavily. "[Naww… you're just sayin' that…]"

"[Not a chance.]" He looked down at the ground while tapping his fingers. "[You're… Y-You're really beautiful, Bun.]"

Making a very happy noise, she brought her paws up to her cheeks. "[D'aww~! Thank you, Pikachu!]" She moved forwards to give him a big hug, which he returned. While breaking away, she smirked at him. "[You're just a big ol' ball of cheese, y'know that?]"

He gave her a look of mock annoyance. "[ _I'm_ the cheesy one? Tsk! This coming from Mrs. "I love ya more than anything".]"

"[Hey… that was ages ago...]" she responded sheepishly.

"[Hah, you still said it, though…! Besides, you pretty much said the same thing a few nights back, too.]" He smiled coyly. "[… Remember?]"

She bashfully looked off to the side. "[Hmph, well, y'know…]" She paused a moment before laughing. "[Wait… 'Mrs', huh? Are ya trying to hint at somethin'…?]" she said, grinning slyly.

He blinked before rubbing the back of his neck. "[Er, eheh, um, I meant 'Miss'. Miss "I love ya more than anything".]"

She giggled before playfully nudging her elbow into his arm. "[Suuuure ya did!]"

He exasperatedly shook his head. There was never any winning with her…

The topic finished, she began looking him over. "[Y'know, you're lookin' really, really handsome, yerself!]"

"[Oh, thanks!]" He gave a small twirl of his own, showing off the blue tailcoat he was wearing. "[I used to wear this back in Kanto, during my little jukebox sessions. Thought it might be good for the date, too! Didn't wear the hat and cane, though. I would've looked like some kind of ringleader from a circus.]"

Amused, she smiled. "[Well, ya certainly weren't wrong! About the "good for a date" part, anyway. It suits ya!]" She stared at him curiously. "[Oh, hold on... Tsk, Pikachuuu! Yer bowtie's all scruffy!]" she scolded, frowning.

"[It is?]" he asked, glancing down at it. Looking, he noticed that the red bowtie holding his coat together was unraveling. "[… Oh. So it is.]" He gave an embarrassed laugh. "[Whoops… guess I should've been more careful while crawling about, huh?]"

She clicked her tongue playfully and moved closer, raising her paws towards it. "[Silly~]" She began to play around with it, fixing it so that it looked neat again. "[There we go! Now, no more crawlin' around, mister, or I'll get mad.]"

He pouted. "[Aw, but our picnic spot's gotta be _perfect_ , y'know? And the only way I can make sure of that is crawling around to get a good look at things.]"

"[Yeah, well, still…]" she responded with a groan. Soon after, she looked at him curiously. "[Hm… actually I'm surprised to see ya actin' like such a perfectionist. I mean, you're usually real careful, but it's like you're in overdrive today.]"

"[Well, I've gotta be! I mean… what if your dad thinks I'm a lousy boyfriend because I screwed everything up?]" His ears dipped slightly. "[I'd never forgive myself…]"

She rolled her eyes. "[Ya worry wayyyy, way too much, y'know that?]"

"[B-But…]"

She placed a paw over his mouth. "[Hey, no more worryin', mister! It looks wonderful, just like you. Okay?]" she reassured, slowly removing her paw.

Blushing slightly, he twiddled his fingers. "[W-Well… if you say so, then… no need to worry, right?]"

Making a noise of amusement, she nodded. "[Right! Besides, Daddy's never really cared about cleanliness. He's way too boyish for that.]"

Feeling much calmer, he chuckled as he got to work on getting the food out of the picnic basket. "[Just like Ash, then?]"

She laughed and did the same. "[Yup! Exactly like Ash!]" She rubbed her chin and smirked. "[I'm surprised, though. If you're so worried about first impressions... then why're ya more worked up over the blanket than yer own suit? He'll judge _that_ before he judges the picnic.]"

He blinked. "[... Oh, gods, no, you're right! _Ack!_ ]" he screeched, frantically patting down the entirety of his suit.

Buneary sighed. "[Oh no... Now, Pikachu...]"

He tried reaching his back and panicked when he couldn't. "[Oh no! Buneary, is the back all creased!?]" he asked, facing away from her.

"[Nah, it ain't. But, Hon', I was just-]"

He started towards the campsite. "[Don't worry, Bun, I'll just go borrow Cilan's clothing iron! Then I can fix-]"

"[ _Pikachu! I was just kiddin'!_ ]" she snapped.

With a yelp, he spun around on the spot to face her, eyes widened.

She blinked and coughed before smiling. "[Um... y'know? You're fine! Finer than a... a fine from Barry.]"

He paused. Exhaling, he smiled back. "[Yeah... sorry. I'm... y'know. Hah.]"

She moved closer and pat him on the shoulder reassuringly. "[Yeah, a big ol' worrywart.]"

"[Heheh, hey... ya jerk,]" he retorted, calming slightly.

She nuzzled him. "[Yup! _Your_ jerk!]"

Pikachu playfully tapped her on the head. She was so cheeky. She was right, though. The date would go well enough. Maybe. Possibly…

If this date were just for him and Buneary, he wouldn't be anywhere near as nervous. They were at that comfortable stage of their relationship where if either of them messed something up, they would just laugh it off. Well, once Pikachu stopped freaking out about it, anyway. However, this date wasn't a romantic one. Instead, it was a 'family reunion' of sorts, where both his father and Buneary's father were going to join them for a simple picnic. Just so they could all meet up for the first time and get to know each other, more than anything.

He was okay about his father meeting Buneary. However, he was less confident about her father's visit. The only thing he knew about the guy was that he was apparently 'rough and gruff', in Buneary's own words, which wasn't reassuring to hear in the least.

Still, she'd mentioned that he was very nice at heart, too, so maybe things wouldn't be so bad? Pikachu could only hope. No matter what happened, though, he had to keep a cool head. Not just for his sake, but for Buneary's, too. She'd been looking forward to this for a long time, so he couldn't let her down. Besides, he hoped it would cheer her up a bit, after being so unwell the other day.

For the next couple of minutes, the two pokémon got to work on laying all of the food out on the picnic blanket. Despite the small size of the basket, there was plenty of food to be had! It reminded the mouse of Brock's old bag, which could apparently hold an entire table, as well as chairs. Heck, even Cilan's bag had that ability, too, come to think of it… Man, just what was it with humans and their tiny bags that could hold humongous amounts of stuff?

Either way, Pikachu had to stop himself from drooling as he helped set the picnic. Thanks to Cilan, they had plenty of fruits, berries, pies, cakes and… well, just about anything he could imagine! He could even see a bowl of pasta that was adorned with the green-haired chef's famous berry bacon. If this didn't impress their dads, then _nothing_ would!

… Oh! Speaking of their dads, Pikachu had almost forgotten something important. _Very_ important! "[Oops! S'cuse me, Bun. I've gotta go back to camp.]"

Setting down a plate of tamato berries, she gave him a curious look. "[Oh? What's the matter?]"

"[I almost forgot something. Something that isn't an iron, anyway.]" He got ready to run towards the campsite. "[Don't worry, though. I'll be back in a flash! You keep up the good work until I get back!]"

"[Oh, well, okay then!]" She frowned as he crouched into a running position on his four paws. "[Heyy, don't do that! You might get your paws and coat all mucky…]"

He paused before getting onto his hind legs again, blushing. "[O-Oh yeah. Eheh, sorry…]" Now upright, began to run towards the campsite. Something that he found surprisingly difficult to do.

As soon as he was out of her sight, he considered running on all fours again. After some careful consideration, however, he thought better of it and continued to run on his hind legs, like he was some kind of hedgehog. Seriously, how did humans manage to run on their twos without looking ridiculous? It was a mystery to him.

Still, doing this was better than dirtying his clothes. Not just because of first impressions, but because of Buneary, too. He'd find it hard to forgive himself if he ever made her upset...

* * *

Walking back to the picnic site, Pikachu fiddled around with the red handheld television in his paws. He'd gotten it from Ash's backpack, another bottomless pit that would make Corrin jealous, and sneaked away without the humans noticing. It wasn't a very high quality TV, but it would be enough to get the job done.

Speaking of which, he couldn't help but wonder about Buneary's father. How exactly was he going to get here? And for that matter, how had he been in contact with her, anyway? Pikachu, Ash and the rest of the team were in Unova right now. A place far away from Sinnoh. So Pikachu was impressed Buneary's father had managed to get a hold of her. Well, assuming he _was_ from Sinnoh, anyway. That was where they'd found Buneary, so it only made sense, right?

… Well, whatever. Perhaps they'd both used some kind of delibird mail delivery service. After all, those flying-types were known for being expert mailmen.

Pikachu continued to fiddle around with the crackling television in his paws, trying to find the right frequency for his own father. While doing that, his thoughts shifted into another direction. Just what _was_ Buneary's father, anyway? He assumed he was a lopunny, and apparently a very burly one at that, but he didn't know for sure. According to Buneary, the guy had really long, muscular ears, so it was looking that way.

Suddenly, he was snapped out of his thoughts as the television came to life, showing color and making many different noises. Oh, he'd found the frequency! Looking closely into the monitor, he could see…

… Nothing? He stared hard at the screen, trying to see if there was anything at all. However, save for the flashing blue and red static, he couldn't see anything of interest.

He checked the frequency to make sure he'd gotten the right one. "[Lessie... 07221994... Yeah, this is it,]" he mumbled aloud to himself. "[Dad? You there? _Dad_?]" he called.

… No response. Drat. This was the correct frequency, so why wasn't he here? This was so confusing…

Before he could continue pondering, a couple of letters appeared on the screen. They formed a word that simply read 'IN'.

… He felt tempted, he had to admit. However, he was worried. It'd been a long time since he'd done this… and the last time hadn't ended well at all. Still… he remembered his dad telling him that this frequency was a 'safe' spot, so…

… Taking a deep breath, he looked around. Satisfied he was alone, he surrounded himself in a field of electricity. This was set to get interesting, if nothing else.

Feeling fully charged, he yelled, "[Quick Attack!]" before zipping towards the screen as quick as light. Then, with a bright flash, he traveled through it, as if it were a portal.

* * *

 **TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

 **Finished:** 11/11 (November)/2015

 **Word count:** 2,336

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** Oh lord! Pikachu, what are you doing!? Is he initiating another Electric Soldier Porygon!? Is he going to ruin the picnic!? Stay tuned to find out!

As you're probably well aware, this story's set to get far more Nintendo-y than my other ones (Not counting Miracle Murder Cure), so I hope you enjoy it! :P

Major thanks to ravengal, who was kind enough to beta-read this for me (twice), and even provide a cool-ass summary. Thanks, babe!

 **Shamless self-promotion:** If you don't review, favourite, and/or follow this story, you'll get an earful! (Disclaimer: Not really)

 **Fun mistake of the day:** "[Ya bowtie's all scruffy!]" she scolded, frowning.

(It kinda sounds like she's calling him a bowtie. "Oi, mate, ya friggin' bowtie! I'll knock you down, I swear on me mum!")

Alrighty, tata for now, guys! c:


	2. Far Away Father

**Chapter 2:** _Far Away Father_

* * *

After hurtling through a tunnel of many different flashing colors, Pikachu soon found himself on solid ground again. Carefully opening his eyes to look around, he saw that he was inside a strange, multi-colored digital world of sorts. He also saw a mismatch of many different shapes floating along the horizon, heading nowhere in particular.

He couldn't stop his jaw from hanging open. He'd been here many times in the past, but he still found these lands so amazing. It reminded him of the time he'd met Porygon in that odd computer world. In this case, thankfully, there wasn't any copious amounts of eyestrain to worry about. Still, considering what happened last time in this place… he chose to remain at least a little cautious.

He shook his head. This place was pretty, sure, but he had to focus. Buneary would never forgive him if he showed up late to their party! … Well, okay, she probably would, but that was beside the point. He didn't want to make her upset, all the same. Especially after yesterday, when she'd cried over getting her favorite vest slightly dirty. It'd seemed a little overdramatic at the time, though with the stress of the upcoming picnic, he couldn't say he was all that surprised.

He scanned the area to see if his father was around. "[ _Dad? You there?_ ]" he called out. Getting no response, he sighed. Just where could he be?

Before he could call out again, something slapped into the back of his head. Reaching behind himself, he grabbed the thin object and brought it forward to look at it. The thing was black, save for the slowly pulsating edges. He also saw what appeared to be technicolored writing on it.

"[… A note?]" he mumbled aloud, quizzically. Sure enough, in his hands was some kind of weird, digital paper. Looking at the top of it, he could see… his name? Huh, was this addressed to him?

… Oh, he understood now! It was a letter of some kind. Or electronic mail, as it were.

Chuckling at his own dumb pun, he began to read it.

* * *

 _Hey, you, Pikachu!_

 _I'm real sorry to say it, but I'm gonna be late for our lil' get-together. Out of nowhere, some Galaxy Gang stragglers decided to show their ugly faces again, so I've gotta go stop them._

 _Don't fret, though. I'll try and wrap things up with 'em as soon as I can, but I dunno how long it'll take. 'Till then, you guys get started on eating and I'll see ya real soon!_

 _-From Dad._

* * *

Pikachu's ears drooped as he got to the end of the letter. "[Aww, rats,]" he muttered, disappointed. Stupid Galaxy Gang…

After several seconds passed, he began to grow worried. Oh, legends, just how was he going to explain this to Buneary? What if his dad didn't get here in time? What if the picnic became spoiled by news of his father being defeated by the Galaxy Gang? Heck, what would he even _do_ if his dad was defeated by the Galaxy Gang!?

He took a deep breath to calm himself. No… he shouldn't worry so much. Buneary often teased him about being too much of a worrywart, and… she was right. He was just being paranoid. Besides, his father was great at his job, so it probably wouldn't take him too long to beat 'em and get over here! Hopefully…

As his ears perked up again, he realized something. Exactly how had his dad expected him to find that note, anyway? It'd just been left to float in cyberspace. Tsk, it was unsurprising, really. His dad always had been bad at planning things out. Like that one time he'd dived into some water to stop a villain, even though he'd known full well that doing so would weaken his powers.

Either way, Pikachu had to get back to the picnic. He wanted to be there for when Buneary's dad arrived, at least.

Facing towards the monitor behind him, he saw that the writing on the screen had changed, as well as its blinking colors. Its yellow and red flashing screen now had the word 'OUT', implying that it led back to the real world.

With another charged Quick Attack, he soon found himself hurtling through the screen and into a cyberspace portal again.

As he tumbled down the vortex, he found himself constantly checking for ruffles. Oh, man, he really hoped this wouldn't mess up his suit. The last thing he wanted was some inter-dimensional creases. Those sounded hard to straighten out...

* * *

Back in the outside world, Pikachu was nearing the picnic, the portable TV in his paws. While he had no use for it right now, it would come in handy later, once his dad was ready to show up. Until then, it could stay out of the way next to the apple tree, or something.

While walking alongside the river near the picnic site, he spotted Buneary standing around. He made a move to wave towards her, though he stopped as he noticed that she was… on the phone? Wait, what?

Sure enough, she had a pink, walkie-talkie-like cellphone held to the side of her face. It was angled in such a way that allowed her excellent hearing to pick up whatever was being said. From this distance, he couldn't make out what she was saying, but… What the heck, why did she have a phone?

Eventually, as he got closer still, she stopped talking. Then, after tapping one of the colored buttons on her phone, she slipped it into the top of her dress and aired it out several times.

Hearing his footsteps, she turned towards him and waved. "[Hey, you're back at last!]"

"[Yeah. Sorry to keep you waiting. Had to find out when my dad was gonna show up.]"

She made a noise of understanding. "[Makes sense. Er…]" She pointed towards the TV in Pikachu's paws, a look of confusion on her face. "[Why do ya have a TV?]"

"[Need it for my dad. It'll make sense once he gets here!]"

"[Oh, well, if ya say so,]" she replied, shrugging.

"[Speaking of technology, why do you have a phone? Is it Dawn's, or something?]"

She shook her head. "[Nope. It's mine!]" She gave her dress several hard shakes. Eventually, something fell out of the bottom and landed on the ground. She lightly kicked it towards him.

Tilting his head, he bent down to pick up the pink-colored phone. Looking it over, he saw that it had a small screen and four differently-colored buttons surrounding a tiny star. It also had an antenna topped with a small, golden orb.

"[I use it to talk to Daddy whenever I get the chance,]" she explained. "[Just like now, actually.]"

He blinked. Twice.

She gave him a confused glance. "[… What?]"

"[Er… I dunno. It's just… weren't you a wild pokémon for the longest time?]"

"[Well, yeah. Why?]"

He returned the confused look, as well as her phone. "[Then where the heck did you get such a fancy phone?]"

She shrugged, slipping it back into her dress. "[I dunno, ask Daddy. He's the one who gave it to me.]"

He held his baffled gaze for a few more seconds before shaking his head dismissively. "[Huh, alright. Well, whatever works. Man, where'd you keep it all this time, anyway? Dawn's bag, or something?]"

"[Nope.]" She prodded the portion of her dress that was covering her waist fluff. "[Been keepin' it safe here. This fluff of mine's better than any handbag, y'know!]"

"[Heh, 'kay. Guess that explains what kept hitting my leg...]" He briefly cleared his throat as she looked at him curiously. "[… Well, your phone's very pretty, either way. Suits ya!]" he praised.

She smiled. "[Thanks! It's got no number buttons, so it's a bit worthless for callin' anyone but Daddy and my momma, but hey.]"

"[Yeah, I was just wondering about that. What a weird design choice…]" He snapped his fingers as he remembered something. "[Ah, of course. I need to update ya on something.]"

She tilted her head. "[Whazzat?]"

"[My dad's gonna be late. He said he's gotta go stop the Galaxy Gang, which is gonna keep him busy for a while. So we should just get started on eating when we're ready.]"

"[Galaxy Gang…? Ya mean Team Galactic, right?]"

"[Ehh, similar, but not quite. They're still evil, though, so he had no choice.]"

"[Oh, well, alright…]" Her unrolled ear drooped. "[Aww, man… I was hopin' we could all meet up at once, too…]" she said, eyes watering ever so slightly.

Jolting, he moved forwards to wrap an arm around her comfortingly. "[Hey, hey, he won't be long, so it's all good, Bun.]"

She paused for a short while. Soon after, she wiped a paw across her eyes and smiled. "[Yeah… you're right.]"

He smiled back at her. "[Yup! He's just gotta save the world real quick, and then he'll be back before you've even gotten to dessert!]"

Her ear rose again as she nuzzled into his side. "[Tryin' to say that I eat too quickly, are ya~?]" she asked, amused.

"[Ah, n-no way!]" he stammered before pausing. "[… Well… unless pie is involved, I guess. That's gone faster than lightning.]"

She giggled before pulling a mock-angry face and lightly bonking him on the head with her ear. "[Grr…! Cheeky!]"

He laughed, hugging her tighter. "[Then again, that's coming from me. Mr. 'Inhales all the ketchup'.]"

She made an amused noise. "[True, true. And the less said about you 'n' cake, the better.]"

"[Haha, well, y'know…]"

"[Heh. I do,]" she sighed, nuzzling her face into his shoulder.

Content, they stayed in each other's embrace for a little while.

Suddenly, her squashed ear unrolled, as if she'd heard something. Looking up at the sky, she grew excited. "[Ooooh, he's here, he's here~!]" She broke off the hug and pointed towards the sky.

Cocking his head, he followed her gaze upwards. As he looked straight up, he saw a yellow object in the air. It kind of looked like… "[… A star?]" he asked aloud.

She nodded before waving towards it. "[Uh huh! It's Daddy's!]"

He raised an eyebrow. Since when did lopunnys live in the heavens? He didn't have much time to ponder this before the glowing star suddenly grew larger, and larger still.

… Oh, legends, _it was coming straight for them_!

Not wanting to end up like Termina, he grabbed Buneary and used Quick Attack, zipping a short distance away to safety with her in tow. Seconds later, there was a big _crash_ as the star collided with the ground, right next to where they'd been.

Turning to face it, he coughed as dust flew into the air. "[W-What the heck was that!?]" he exclaimed, shaken up.

Not seeming perturbed at all, Buneary instead moved over to the impact site. "[Oh, I know _exactly_ what that was…]" she said somewhat irritably.

He made a move to stop her. "[Wait, Buneary, it's too dange-]"

She frowned. "[ _Daddyyy…_! I told you to land further away from the picnic area! Ya almost landed onto the food! And onto _us_!]"

The only response she received was some groaning, which sounded akin to a deep-voiced growl.

Weird. That didn't sound like a lopunny's voice…

He thought about asking if the pokémon was alright. As the dust settled, however, his eyes widened upon seeing what had landed in the field.

Lying in a heap on the ground was some… odd creature that Pikachu had never seen before. As the guy got up, Pikachu decided to give him a careful look-over in an attempt to tell just what the heck he was.

He had two long, brown ears with lightly-colored tips, just like Buneary, albeit less fluffy. However, while she liked to keep one rolled up at all times, this guy had both of them constantly extended. They also seemed to be coming out of the side of his head, as opposed to Buneary, whose ears came out of the top.

… Well, they were coming out of the side of the top of his head, anyway. His entire body was a head! Save for his ears and two cream-ish feet, he didn't have a neck, or arms, or… well, anything! He was literally just a walking head! In fact… the more Pikachu looked at him, the more those floppy ears were starting to look like arms. Well, replacements for arms.

His face was very thuggish. He had a lighter-shaded, boxer dog-like muzzle, filled with freckles. He also had angry-looking, shady eyes, which... didn't seem to have any eye whites at all. They were all black, as if he had eye-less eyes. Quite like that pangoro pokémon that Pikachu had once heard about.

He was very confused. What the heck _was_ this guy? Was he a pokémon from another region, maybe? Pikachu had no idea. Either way, this couldn't be Buneary's actual father... right? She must have been mistaken.

Now standing up, the large dog turned towards Buneary and smiled. "Sorry, mah lil' bronto burt. It's a mite harder t' ride these things than you'd think," he said, his voice sounding very gruff. Oh, and apparently speaking in perfect English too, as if the whole situation wasn't weird enough already.

Buneary shook her head before gleefully wrapping her arms around his… er, waist. "[Oh, youuu, Daddy…! Ya really need to be more careful, y'know?]"

Laughing, he patted her on the head with an ear-arm. "Yeah... Ah reckon Ah need me some flyin' lessons."

She chuckled. "[I'll say...!]"

Pikachu blinked. This guy _was_ Buneary's father? Really!?

* * *

 **TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

 **Finished (Kinda):** 11/11 (November)/2015

 **Word count:** 2,404

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** And so it begins! Pikachu's meeting of Buneary's enigmatic father! I wonder how the get-together is going to go?

On another note, I'm amazed nobody ever commented on Pikachu going through that digital portal of wonders. Ah well. Guess you're all used to that kind of stuff after the porygon episode, eh? XP

 **Shamless self-promotion:** If you don't review, favourite, and/or follow this story, you'll get an earful! (Disclaimer: Not really)

 **Fun mistake of the day #1:** She lightly kicked him towards it.

(How violent! That's what he gets for ruffling his clothes, I guess.)

 **#2:** 'Since when did lopunnys live the heavens?'

(It's confirmed! Lopunny own the heavens! Don't tell Bayonetta...)

Alrighty, tata for now, guys! c:


	3. Ponderings Aplenty

**Chapter 3:** _Ponderings Aplenty_

* * *

Pikachu continued to give Buneary's apparent father a strange look as the man praised Buneary's dress.

Pikachu was _very_ confused. He could kind of see the resemblance between the two of them, but… well, just what the heck _was_ her father?

He wasn't a lopunny, that much was for certain. Those pokémon were slender, had arms, and their ears couldn't function as operable limbs anymore, as far as he could tell. Her father had black 'eye-whites', just like a lopunny, but he lacked their unique red irises.

For a moment, he wondered if it was just some sort of strange branching evolution, like the ones that kirlias had. Still… he didn't know. Why would they evolve into a flipping _dog_ of all things?

Oh… then again, he _had_ heard tales of a rabbit pokémon from some place called Kalos. Apparently, they evolved into a large… um, unique-looking rabbit creature with huge ear-arms. That said, it still didn't add up. He'd heard that they were mostly gray, and still retained their regular arms. This guy was almost entirely brown, and his normal arms were non-existent. Besides, again, he was a dog. Rabbits don't just become canines for no reason, do they? Not unless they were some kind of weird, chimera monstrosity from the island Pikachu's friend, Lucas, came from, or something.

It was so confusing. Clearly, Buneary's rabbit-y qualities were from her mother's side of the family. Whoever that was.

"So… where's yer lil' boyfriend, then?" the dog in question asked, taking his attention away from Buneary to look around.

Pikachu shook his head to clear away his thoughts and smiled. "[Um, hey, there! That would be me!]" he called back, waving and walking closer.

The dog gave a hearty laugh upon seeing him. "There's the lil' sparky, himself!" Once close enough, the dog grabbed him in a one-ear-armed hug. A very tight one-ear-armed hug. "Howdy, there, partner!" He ruffled the fur on Pikachu's head with his other ear-arm. "So pleased to meet'cha at long last!"

"[Agh… the pleasure's… all mine…]" Pikachu wheezed, going blue from the lack of oxygen.

"[Daddy, no! Muscles!]" Buneary scolded.

"Ah, whoops!" The dog let go of him, allowing him to flop to the floor. "Ah'm always forgettin' mah own strength. Sorry, kiddo."

Picking himself up off the ground and checking his suit for creases, Pikachu offered him an exasperated smile. "[Eheh, that's alright. Good to know you're so, um, friendly.]"

Buneary's father laughed again. "Wow, it ain't often I hear that one! Mah lil' bronto burt told me you were _handsome_ , but polite, too? She weren't kiddin' when she called ya the best catch in the whole world." He briefly eyed Pikachu up. "Man, ya even dress good, too!"

Pikachu gave a slight amused huff. Trust Buneary to say something corny like that. "[Heh, well, thanks,]" he replied.

"[Hee! Glad to see ya both gettin' along so well!]" Buneary chimed, straightening out her green dress.

He and the dog happily agreed with her.

… Then it occurred to Pikachu. He didn't even know the guy's name! Ughh, his first mess-up. So far, so freaking good…

Oh well. It was an easily fixed problem. "[So, um… what was your name again, sorry?]" he asked.

Buneary's father smacked an ear-arm against his side. "Gosh darn it all, where's mah manners? Ah knew Ah'd forget somethin'!"

"[H-Hey, that's alright!]" Pikachu replied, holding his paws up in a comforting manner. "[I didn't exactly tell you mine, either. I'm sure you've heard it plenty of times, though, huh?]"

The dog nodded, laughing again. "Well, 'sides from you sayin' it all the time, Ah'd reckon so. Ah've been hearin' loads of tales from mah little bun."

Pikachu shot Buneary an amused glance, which she playfully shrugged at.

"Anyways…" her father continued, "name's Box Boxer! The boxin' boxer from Jam Jungle!"

Pikachu's ears pricked. Box Boxer? Where had he heard _that_ name before…?

Buneary giggled and rolled her eyes. "[Yer such a show-off, Daddy!]"

Box Boxer blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "Hah, well, it ain't often Ah get to toot mah own horn like this, so y'know…"

Brushing aside his thoughts, Pikachu chuckled and politely held a paw out. "[Oh, well, nice to meet you, Box Boxer! Um… _Mister_ Box Boxer.]"

The dog grabbed hold of his paw with an ear-arm and gave it a brief but aggressively firm shake. "Feelin's mutual!"

Letting go, Pikachu massaged his aching arm as it hung limply by his side. Dear lord, if the man had shaken any harder, his arm would have come clean off. "[Oh, c-cool…!]" he said, smiling as best he could.

The dog grinned. "And no need to be so formal, son! Just call me Boxer, or somethin' along them lines."

Moving his arm around to relieve the aching, Pikachu nodded. "[Duly noted, Boxer!]"

He heard Buneary make a happy noise.

"Say… the journey was a mite long, so… ya got anythin' to snack on?"

"[Um, oh, of course!]" He gestured towards the picnic by the tree. "[Dad's… er, that is, _my_ dad, said he's gonna be late, so we can just help ourselves 'till he comes.]"

Box Boxer's eyes brightened. "[Ahh, don't mind if Ah do!]" He quickly made his way over to the picnic. An impressive feat, considering he didn't seem to have any legs.

"[So far, so good!]" Buneary chimed. "[I think Daddy really likes ya!]"

"[Yeah…]" he replied, taking a breath. He rubbed the back of his head. "[Umm…]"

She gave him a curious look. "[What's up?]"

He shook his head and paws defensively. "[Oh, er, n-nothin'!]"

She put her paws to her hips. "[Now, Pikachu. I'd know that look anywhere. Somethin's worryin' ya, ain't it?]"

Pikachu paused. "[… Huh. And suddenly, I know where you got your cute accent from.]"

She blushed. "[Oh, um… heehee, yeah. Maybe Daddy had a hand in that. Or maybe an ear.]"

He chuckled. "[I _hear_ ya.]"

She groaned and smirked. Soon though, she shook her head and lightly frowned at him. "[Anyway, that doesn't answer my question, mister!]"

Pikachu exhaled. "[Yeah, um… it's just… I dunno.]" He looked off in Box Boxer's direction to see him eating some tomatoes. "[What… _is_ your dear ol' dad, anyway? Like, what species?]"

Her frown disappeared. "[Ohh, I get ya. He's a dog.]"

Pikachu blinked. "[… Er, eheh, well, ya got me there! But… what _pokémon_ is he?]"

She tilted her head. "[Huh? Well… he isn't.]"

They stared at each other. Pikachu's expression somehow felt blanker than hers.

"[… He isn't?]" he asked.

"[Not at all,]" she responded. Pikachu noticed her lips quiver the slightest amount. "[I-Is that a problem?]"

He frantically shook his head. "[ _No!_ I-It's fine! I was just curious, y'know?]" He gestured towards the picnic. "[Hey, why don't we join your dad? I'd love to talk to him!]"

She inhaled and paused. After collecting herself, she nodded, smiling. "[Yeah! Good idea.]"

Gently gripping her paw, he walked over to the picnic table with her in tow. He tried to smile, but his worry was threatening to make a return. Oh dear, he didn't think she'd make such a fuss about his thoughts on Box Boxer's species…

That said, she was most likely just as stressed as he was. It was a little uncharacteristic of her, but this _was_ about their fathers, after all.

With that in mind, he decided to keep his mouth shut about that. At least, for now.

Letting go of her paw, Pikachu sat down on the blanket, making sure to ruffle it as little as possible. Looking to his side, he expected Buneary to be sitting down beside him already. However, she seemed to be struggling to sit down, probably no thanks to her dress.

Quickly getting up, he held an arm out in a gentlemanly fashion. "[Milady?]" he said, grinning.

Giggling, she put her weight on it. "[Why, thank you, sir~]"

Grunting slightly, he helped her into a seated position. He was strong, so it was barely an issue for him. Not to brag, or anything.

Once she was settled, he sat down himself. Unfortunately, in his haste to help his girlfriend, Pikachu had accidentally ruffled the blanket beyond repair. It was hard to hold back the heavy breathing that tried to escape his lungs.

Suddenly, he noticed Box Boxer staring straight in his direction, an apple in ear-hand. Oh, good lord, no! Had he spotted it? Oh man, what would he think of the mouse, now!?

Much to his surprise, however, the dog began to laugh in an… almost affectionate manner. "D'aww, now ain't you two just the cutest things?" he cooed. "Cuter than a couple of snugglin' chips."

... Snuggling chips? Like, potato chips? How... odd.

Before he could question the dog, he suddenly realized the situation he'd jumped into. Oh dear… he hadn't even noticed that he'd shown so much affection in front of his girlfriend's dad.

Face warm, Pikachu rubbed the back of his head. "[Eheh, well… y'know,]" he mumbled.

Buneary giggled again and nuzzled against his arm. "[ _I_ ain't the cutest thing here, though~]"

Pikachu's face warmed even more. "[Y-Yeah, well… I disagree.]"

She smirked at him. "[Oh yeah? 'N' why's that?]"

He smirked right back. "['Cos… you totally are, Bun.]"

She made a high-pitched noise of delight. "[Oh, Pikachu…]" She winked, "[you've been practicin' yer cheese, haven't ya?]"

His grin turned into a sheepish one. "[Hey… it wasn't _that_ cheesy.]"

"[Sure, sure…!]"

Box Boxer gave them a tender look, which clashed with his rough appearance, somewhat. "You two are just _so_ adorable together, Ah can hardly stand it!" He laughed. "And here Ah was, worried Ah'd have to beat the livin' daylights outta ya for treatin' mah girl wrong!"

Pikachu felt sweat pool on his forehead. "[Ah… haha! O-Oh… you,]" he replied. Looking at those muscles on the dog, he suddenly felt even more inclined to make this date go perfectly.

"How'd you two go about meetin' each other, anyway?" The dog's eyes sparkled. "Ooh, and ya gotta tell me how ya got together!"

Oh dear… that sounded embarrassing. Especially seeing as Box Boxer seemed to be a romanticist… Still, Pikachu had no real qualms with telling the story.

Before he could, though, Buneary shook her head. "[Nahh, later, Daddy! When Pikachu's dad gets here!]"

Pikachu paused before nodding. "[Yeah… I think he'll wanna hear the story, too. So… is that alright?]"

Box Boxer pouted. "Aww, but...!"

Buneary gave him a stern look. "[Now, Daddy...! Pika's dad'll wanna hear all the juicy gossip, too. Especially if it'll make good embarrassment fuel!]"

Some sweat went down the side of Pikachu's face. "[Um, th-that's right! I'm... sure he will.]" He nodded energetically. "[We'll do lots of talking when he gets here! Promise!]"

"[Sure will!]" Buneary agreed. "[We'll have a _lot_ to talk about.]" She smiled softly. "[… A lot.]"

"Aww… well, okay, ya couple of cupies, you," Box Boxer relented. "Guess Ah'll live for a while. "

Cupie? Okay, Pikachu was starting to get _really_ curious about these strange… figures of speech the dog had been using. They sounded familiar, but… Pikachu couldn't quite put his finger on what they reminded him of.

While contemplating Box Boxer's odd lingo, Pikachu reached forwards to grab a bun. Well, a toffee bun, anyway. The last thing he wanted to do in front of the man was grab the wrong one...

Chuckling lightly at the thought, he brought the pastry to his mouth. As he bit into it, Box Boxer spoke again. "Hey, d'ya have any of them maxim tomatoes?"

Pikachu swallowed sharply, eyes snapping wide. Did he just say...?

Buneary shook her head. "[Nah, sorry, Daddy. Our human friends don't get food from Planet Popstar, so I couldn't bring any.]"

"Aww, shucks," Box Boxer muttered. He brightened up. "Ah well, that's alright, mah lil' bronto burt. A regular one'll do me just fine!" He picked up a normal tomato and ate it.

Pikachu continued to stare. A maxim tomato? Planet Popstar? And... come to think of it, bronto burts? Those were... things from Kirby's world. Heck, Planet Popstar _was_ Kirby's world.

... Wait. On the topic of bronto burts... all those figures of speech Box Boxer had been using... those were creatures from Kirby's world, right? Yeah... bronto burts were angry purple butterfly-like things. Chips were those limb-less fox things with tails. Cupies were... well, Pikachu didn't remember, but Kirby had a cupid ability... so perhaps they granted him that? Were sparkys something from Kirby's world, too? That place had such weird creatures that it was hard to remember them all...

He was about to ask Buneary and her father if they'd ever played a game from the Kirby series before... but then he remembered something else. Box Boxer had zipped down from the sky on a star-shaped thing, hadn't he? Had he travelled here on a freaking warpstar!? But that would mean...

Pikachu looked the dog up and down. No way. This guy wasn't actually... _from_ Kirby's homeworld, right? That was impossible, surely!

Then again... Pikachu _did_ faintly recall something, come to think of it. Something to do with a large dog in one of the games. But... what had that been again?

While the others continued to eat, Pikachu tried to remember as best he could...

* * *

 **TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

 **Finished:** 27/11 (November)/2016

 **Word count:** 2,216

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** Kirbeh, Kirbeh, Kirbeh, that's the name you should know! Kirbeh, Kirbeh, Kirbeh, he's the star of the show! He's more than you think, he's got maximum pink! Kirbeh, Kirbeh, Kirbeh's the onnnnnneeeeee!

... Yeah, I don't have anything interesting to say. Other than... surprise, I guess! Though at least one of you guessed that this was Kirby-related, so maybe not. XP

 **Shameless self-promotion:** Yo, bros! Don't forget to review, follow and/or fave! Otherwise, Kirby might send something right back at'cha! (Disclaimer: not really.)

 **Fun mistake of the day** **#1:** 'He ruffled the fur on Pikachu's head the other ear-arm.'

(Oh god, is Pikachu growing ear-arms out of his head, too? I wonder if that'll make Buneary like him more.)

 **#2:** 'Gently gripping her hand, he walked over to the picnic table with her in tow.'

(Buneary apparently grew fingers! I imagine them bursting out of her hand in a disturbing fashion.)

 **#3:** 'Yeah, bronot burts were butterfly-like things.'

(Bronot burts. Those burts ain't your bros, bro.)

Welp, that's all for now, brohas! Tata for now! c:


	4. Who's The Boss Now?

**Chapter 4:** _Who's The Boss Now?_

* * *

 _Looking out on the waves of the ocean that spanned as far as the eye could see, Pikachu sighed. The salty breeze was pleasant against his face, sure, but it didn't make this boat ride any less boring._

 _He'd been sitting on deck for ages, and the trip **still** had several hours left to it. Sinnoh was far, far away Kanto, after all, so it was to be expected. _

_Currently, the ship's deck was devoid of any people or pokémon. Everyone, including Ash and Aipom, were inside the ship. Ash and the purple monkey had stayed around for a long while, but the second it had been time for food, they'd high-tailed it out of here._

 _Pikachu would've followed them… but he honestly didn't feel like eating. As their journey across the open waters had continued, he'd begun to feel… bittersweet. Leaving a familiar region to visit a brand new one never got any easier, no matter how many times he'd done it before. Especially since he was leaving friends behind, just like last time…_

 _… Well, there was no use sitting around doing nothing. Pikachu had to keep himself busy, or he was going to go insane from the gloomy boredom._

 _He paused and angled his ears, checking to make sure the coast was clear. Aside from some abnormal splashing noises coming from the side of the boat - no doubt some random water-type pokémon - things seemed normal enough._

 _Satisfied, Pikachu held out his paw and concentrated. After a brief flash, a familiar golden coin appeared on his palm. On it was the logo of a circle with a four-way cut sliced through the corner. The Smash emblem, as it were._

 _With another few cautionary glances to his sides, he flicked it forwards with his thumb. Hitting the floor, it exploded with a soft fizzing sound, forming a multi-colored portal against the ground._

 _Swift as can be, he jumped into it. Falling through the rainbow vortex, he looked upwards to see the entrance close behind him. Seeing it do just that, he breathed a sigh of relief. It was unlikely to happen, but the last thing he wanted was for anyone to discover his little secret. Especially Ash. Awkward wouldn't even **begin** to cover how that would go._

 _After some more seconds of falling, Pikachu felt himself slow to a halt. Then, as the rainbow colors faded away into sunshine, he felt sturdy ground beneath his feet. Sturdy ground that belonged to his destination, the Smash World!_

 _Breathing in the fresh scent of cut grass, he glanced around. Currently, he was standing on the paving stones of the Landing Plaza. A place where people from all sorts of other worlds landed upon visiting this… well, land._

 _As always, it was incredibly pretty. The circular, stone plaza was surrounded by a vibrant garden. One covered in grass and various kinds of flowers. In the middle of the plaza, a lively fountain spraying technicolored water could be seen. It was a pleasant image against the blue sky in the distance and the odd landscape high above, which was almost like a mirror image of the one Pikachu stood upon. Weird as it was, he had grown used to the sight of it long ago, so he didn't question it too much. One did have to wonder how the gravity of it worked, though…_

 _Done enjoying the sights, he moved along one of the pathways leading away from the plaza. He couldn't help but notice that things were pretty quiet today. There were a few random denizens from various different worlds dotted about, but nobody he recognized._

 _To amuse himself, he decided to see what kinds of creatures they were. He saw some mushroom-like toads, brown, blobby waddle dees, rocky gorons… and an anthropomorphic dog guy wearing clothes that suggested he was a pilot of some kind. Maybe he was from Fox's universe… or was he from Captain Falcon's universe, instead? Eh, Pikachu found it hard to tell, sometimes. The guy could even be from Samus' universe for all he knew._

 _After several minutes of this, the mouse found himself growing bored again. Less bored than when he'd been lingering on the boat, but he still really wanted someone to talk to. Glancing about, he noticed a familiar large yellow turtle with a flowing red mane and a green spiked shell. He was currently playing ball with his son, who looked exactly the same, albeit much smaller and less threatening._

 _Pikachu frowned at the sight. He never had been a fan of villains… and the two Bowsers were no exception. He grinned as he thought of something, though. If those two were here… that probably meant Mario and Luigi were available to hang out with. They normally weren't, due to saving the Mushroom Kingdom and Peach from Bowser… or having one of their annual sports events with Bowser, for some reason… but not now, it seemed!_

 _Smiling enthusiastically, Pikachu pulled out his smash coin and held it out in front of himself. With some whirring noises, a holographic map of the Smash World appeared in front of him. With this, he'd be able to track wherever his friends were. He often tried to avoid finding anyone this way, seeing as it was vaguely creepy, but whatever. He didn't feel like searching high and low for anyone today. Besides, others could do the same with their maps to find him, so it wasn't too bad, really._

 _Scanning around the map, he unsurprisingly found an icon of his own face, as well as the faces of Bowser and Bowser Jr. Looking around some more, he saw Mewtwo and Meta Knight's icons together in some mountainous area nearby. The two of them were most likely having a fight, so Pikachu decided to just leave them to it. Especially since they were pretty grouchy, anyway._

 _He continued along the map, looking for either of the plumbers. Or any of his friends, really. Eventually, he noticed some red out the corner of his eye. Looking closer at that part of the map, he grinned again. He'd found Mario, who was hanging around in the town nearby._

 _Deactivating his map, he nodded to himself and made off in the direction of the town, which he could see on the horizon. Being the rebel he was, he decided to cut corners and go across the grass instead. Not like it wasn't allowed, or anything, but still. He needed to find some way to thrill himself, every now and again._

* * *

 _Without too much hassle, Pikachu was finally in the town. He had no idea where to look for the plumber in question, but he rarely ever visited this place, so it was a good excuse to explore. Honestly, he didn't know the name of the place… but, like most locations in the Smash World, it most likely had 'Smash' somewhere in the title. No thanks to Master Hand, the god of this world, being awful at naming places._

 _Walking down the quiet streets, he took note of how old-timey everything looked. The buildings, especially. It was almost like walking into one of Marth or Roy's games. The only thing throwing off the scenery were the different creatures that were milling about, just like before. Their bright, different colors clashed against the rustic nature of the town, though it kept things interesting, so he couldn't complain._

 _Inhaling, he didn't smell any dust or damp, as one would expect… so he guessed that the town was only styled this way, and wasn't actually very old. He did, however, smell various kinds of food. He wasn't very hungry, so he didn't mind too much, but it was a good reminder that he should visit again in the future. Perhaps if he one day managed to get a lady friend of his own, considering how romantic this place looked like it could be at night. He was really jumping the gun, though._

 _After a few minutes of walking along the streets, he decided to let his mind wander to pass the time. Thinking back on the region he and Ash were headed towards, he couldn't help but wonder what Sinnoh was going to be like. The only glimpse of it he'd ever gotten had been that one time Ness had let him play his Pokémon game. Specifically, the one that had come out recently. Pokémon Pearly Diamonds, or something like that._

 _He hadn't made it far in the region, only past Eterna Forest - a location early on in the game - but it seemed like a nice place. If nothing else, he knew what kinds of pokémon to expect. Goofy-looking penguins... adorable-looking rabbits... squirrels that kind of reminded him of his friend, Pichu... All pokémon he was sure to meet in this new region._

 _As for Ash's next companion... well, that could be anyone, to be fair. Ness had started the game as some guy called Lucas, who had bluish gray hair and a red beret. He was always a possible friend. Somehow, though, Pikachu doubted he and Ash would see him. They never got to meet the male protagonists of these games. That said, May had been the female protagonist of the Hoenn games… and there was some beanie-wearing girl that Ness' character had bumped into while playing the new game. He wondered if **she** was going to be Ash's new friend… _

_Well, who knew? Either way, speaking of May… he was going to miss travelling with her and Max. He had a feeling Brock was going to return yet again, but even **that** was uncertain at this point. Oh well…_

 _Continuing onwards, he suddenly heard music and various sound effects coming from above. Curious, he angled his head upwards. His lips broke out into a smile upon seeing a mustached man in a familiar red cap sitting on a balcony. At long last! It was Mario time!_

 _Walking closer, he waved. "[Hey, Mario!]" he called out. Unlike in his own world, he could talk to whoever he wanted in the Smash World, human or not. Something that was real convenient._

 _Jolting slightly, the plumber in blue overalls and a red cap peered over the rails. He smiled upon seeing who it was. "Oh, hello there!" he chimed, halting the sounds. "I thought I recognized your voice!" He beckoned upwards invitingly._

 _With a huge leap, Pikachu jumped against the wall. Twisting around and kicking off, he went even higher, ending with a forward flip over the bars and onto the balcony's floor._

 _"Not-a bad!" Mario praised, putting something down on the table to his side, next to his drink._

 _Pikachu grinned. "[Thanks! Pichu helped me out with that one. When he was done practicing with his ukulele, anyway.]"_

 _"Oho, that's-a so great! One day, you'll both put-a my jumps to shame." Mario pat the seat next to him. "Here. Let's-a hang out while I finish my shroom-a shake."_

 _"[Sounds good to me!] Pikachu replied, jumping onto the seat next to him and sitting down._

 _Once he was settled, Mario continued. "So, what brings you to these-a parts, my little paisano?" He took a sip of his drink. "Getting bored of-a travelling around that Battle Frontier in... what was the place called again?"_

 _"[It was Hoenn- Er, I mean Kanto, sorry,]" Pikachu replied, leaning back in his seat. "[Heh, and… well, you're right about me being bored. I'm not travelling around Kanto right now, though.]"_

 _"Oh, okie dokie. You're not?" Mario asked, scratching his signature moustache._

 _"[Nope. Heck, we're on the boat ride to the next region, now. It's not all that interesting, though. The ride, I mean.]"_

 _"Oh, that's a shame. Does that mean you're-a saying goodbye to some of your friends?"_

 _"[Yeah…]" Pikachu sighed. "[Ah, well. That's how it goes, I guess.]"_

 _The plumber smiled. "Oh well. At least you have ol'-a Mario here to keep you smiling, eh?"_

 _Chuckling, Pikachu smiled back. "[Oh, totally!]" He tilted his head. "[So… what're you doing here, in this place?]"_

 _"This café makes the best-a drinks, so why not?"_

 _"[Ah, alright. Heh, maybe I'll get one later, then.]" Suddenly, something occurred to the mouse. "[Oh, hey… what were those sounds you were making earlier? Were you playing something?]"_

 _"Oho! As a matter of fact, I was!" Mario replied, picking up something from the table and letting Pikachu get a good look. It seemed to be a Nintendo DS, a two-screened handheld gaming console that didn't exist in Pikachu's world._

 _Looking at the top screen, the mouse's eyes widened upon seeing a familiar happy puffball. "[Oh, hey, that's Kirby, ain't it?]" he asked._

 _Mario nodded. "It sure is! I'm-a playing his latest new game! Squeak Squad!"_

 _Huffing in amusement at the plumber's odd choice of wording, Pikachu scratched his chin. "[Squeak Squad…? That sounds familiar.]"_

 _"It-a should do! I think It's-a based off an adventure little Kirby had last year. Something to do with some crazy thief mice."_

 _"[Huh, oh yeah… I remember now. Isn't that the adventure that everyone teased Kirby about?]"_

 _"That's the one! Poor Kirby… I think people are still teasing him for his cake rampage."_

 _Pikachu chuckled. "[Well, in all fairness, he **did** beat up an entire clan of thieves…. because they stole his slice of cake, or something. I know that's not something **I'd** do.]"_

 _"Not even for ketchup?" Mario asked, smirking._

 _Pikachu blinked. "[… There may be exceptions,]" he replied, face warming slightly._

 _Mario laughed. "Oh, well, I won't-a judge. After all, the princess always bakes me cakes whenever I save-a her, so I know the feel."_

 _Pikachu raised an eyebrow. "[I hope that's not the **only** reason you save her…]"_

 _Some sweat went down the side of the plumber's head. "… No. It's-a not the **only** reason Mario has…"_

 _Smirking, Pikachu rolled his eyes. "[Uh-huh…]"_

 _Coughing inconspicuously, Mario held his DS slightly lower. "… Say! Wanna watch me beat up some of those-a varmints?"_

 _"[Varmints, huh?]" Pikachu asked, crossing his arms._

 _With a pause, Mario awkwardly rubbed the side of his cap. "W-Well… not that **all-a** mice are varmints. Just **these-a** ones. Eheh…"_

 _Rolling his eyes, Pikachu chuckled lightly. "[Yeah, I know. Anyways, sure, sounds fun!]"_

 _"Okie dokie!" Mario pumped a fist excitedly. "Then let's-a go!"_

 _Smiling at the display of enthusiasm the plumber was known for, Pikachu glanced down at the screen. The first thing to greet his vision was a bright yellow pause menu, with loads of different tidbits strewn about. He saw things such as a blue bandana… the word 'THROW', as well as a blurb to go with it… some details for certain throwing-based moves on the bottom screen… and other things like that. All stuff that must have been referring to one of Kirby's famous copy abilities, which he acquired by eating the right kinds of enemies._

 _As Mario unpaused the game, the bright screen went away. It was soon replaced with Kirby, who was holding a fighting pose with a blue bandana on his head. He was currently inside what appeared to be a jungle, with lush greenery everywhere and light poking through the foliage. He was standing on some mossy wooden floor, which stretched across the screen._

 _In front of him were dozens of blocks with stars on the front. He also spotted a waddle dee milling about. One of those brown, Kirby-shaped… things with no mouth._

 _Wasting no time, Mario played around with the controls, making Kirby move. The puffball grabbed a star block with his Throw ability and threw it forwards, decimating the waddle dee and all the blocks it hit. He then ran forwards in his silly manner, arms waving in the air above._

 _Some sweat went down Pikachu's head. It was true to life, he supposed. A walking force of death one second, a happy-go-lucky goofball the next._

 _Eventually, Kirby came across some more enemies. Some orange arm-less, snouted head that was on fire… and some bizarre reddish, pinkish walking head with a rabbit face, huge feet and ears for arms. It kind of reminded Pikachu of that cute rabbit pokémon from Pearly Diamonds that he'd tried to catch. What had its name been again? Bunheary or something punny like that, right?_

 _Kirby jumped onto the higher path with the pinkish rabbit thing and ran forwards, ready to grab it. However, he was beaten to the punch. The rabbit lunged forwards, grabbed him with its ear, spun him around for a while, and then tossed him several yards away. He crashed into the ground, painfully._

 _"Oh, mama mia!" Mario exclaimed, frowning._

 _"[Oh, man…]" Pikachu grumbled. "[Suddenly, I remember why I don't like going to Kirby's world. Every corner you turn, you run into weird jerks like that.]"_

 _"Hey, it's not-a that bad… there's less sane worlds around, like… Ness' world."_

 _"[Well, that's not saying much, is it? I remember getting attacked by a floating, scalding hot cup of coffee last time I visited **that** place...]" Pikachu tenderly rubbed his arm as he remembered the pain. "[I've been suspicious of coffee ever since.]"_

 _"Well… to be fair, I heard that you offended it when you said that it was-a horrible…"_

 _"[… It's not my fault it was so watery and tasteless…]" Pikachu replied, pouting._

 _Chuckling, Mario turned back to his game. No thanks to that rabbit thing, Kirby had lost his ability, meaning he was back to being his bald, hatless self. Thankfully, after some backtracking, the puffball came across that fiery thing from earlier. Inhaling, he sucked the enemy into his mouth and swallowed, earning himself a crown of fire. From there, he went on a fiery rampage. Using flaming breath and shooting forward as a fireball to set greenery and enemies alight._

 _"Y'know, it-a reminds me of the time you tried to eat a fire flower," Mario joked, while making Kirby set fire to a waddle dee._

 _"[Ughh, don't remind me…]" Pikachu replied, grimacing. "[After what I accidentally did to Young Link's shield, I've banned myself from being a fire-type.]"_

 _Mario laughed. "That's-a good call."_

 _Kirby's rampage continued into the next area, a grassy cave of some kind. After some metallic block guys met an unfortunately fiery end, Pikachu decided to start a new topic. "[So… does it ever feel weird having a game based off your adventures?]" he asked._

 _"Not-a really," Mario replied. "I got used to it after the one based off-a my dream with the vegetables and the evil frog."_

 _"[Heh, alright, then.]"_

 _Making Kirby set fire to some bat enemies, the plumber tilted his head. "How about-a you? Don't you ever feel strange?"_

 _"[Well… I don't have much to go off. The pokémon games aren't about me, or Ash, or anything. Even if one of the characters did kinda look like him, and have a pikachu, and stuff.]"_

 _"Oh… I guess so." Mario's eyes brightened. "Oho, just a second! You had-a the game on the ol' N64, right?"_

 _Pikachu huffed. "[Puzzle League doesn't count. At all.]"_

 _"Lemmie guess…. is it just-a because it's a puzzle game? I **do** remember you losing a lot because of how long you took to decide each-a move."_

 _"[… I wanted to make absolute sure each move would be a good one…]"_

 _Mario chuckled while making Kirby dodge around some spiky gordo enemies. "And then the blocks hit the top of the screen before you could clear even one-a pair."_

 _Pikachu's face went faintly warm. "[And people wonder why I hate puzzle games…]" He shook his head. "[Anyway, no, that's not why. I don't count it as 'my game' because it's based on that Pokémon show.]"_

 _"Oh, yeah. The one that was mostly right until you all met-a May?"_

 _"[Yeah. Then everyone turned boring and weird. That's not how it went at all!]" Pikachu crossed his arms. "[Plus, they keep making me the brainless one, for some reason. All I ever do in that show is smile, agree with everyone and mindlessly wave my arms. Same goes for my other pokémon friends, too…]"_

 _While making Kirby beat up some more waddle dees, Mario pulled a sympathetic look. "Aww… Well, Mario knows how you feel. They once-a made a show where I had a gruff voice and was obsessed with spaghetti. It was pretty cuckoo crazy."_

 _"[Oh yeah… I remember that!]" Pikachu replied, chuckling. "[Well, I guess my show's not as bizarre as **that,** at least.]"_

 _As Kirby set fire to some bushes and entered a door, Mario nodded happily. "Exactly! Besides, I think I heard that the shows, and-a sometimes the games, are based on some other dimensions. Ones where we're actually like-a that, or something."_

 _"[I'll believe it…]"_

 _They stayed in comfortable silence for a while as Mario continued to play. After entering the door, Kirby was now in a different part of the jungle. Mario chose to make him discard his fire ability to eat a ninja instead. As a result, the puffball seemingly became a master of ninjutsu himself. It was awesome to see, especially as he sent his shuriken flying straight into the faces of his enemies._

 _After traversing the area for a while - occasionally hitting switches to burn things and reveal hidden objects - Kirby came across another door. When he entered, a small siren sounded. Then a big treasure chest and a large yellow mouse donning spiky sunglasses appeared._

 _"Oh-ho no! It's-a the ninja mouse!" Mario exclaimed._

 _"[Ninja mouse? What?]" Pikachu asked._

 _"She's a part of The Squeaks. That's-a the thief gang that stole the cake!"_

 _"[Huh… guess that explains why she's chasing the treasure chest that's flying away.]"_

 _Sure enough, the chest was on top of a platform, that sped away off-screen. The ninja mouse was in hot pursuit, climbing across the branches above._

 _Mario's eyes widened. "Oh, mama mia, she is! Oh noo!" He quickly sent Kirby running after the treasure chest, occasionally jumping over the bottomless pits in his path._

 _His chase was in vain, however. The ninja mouse managed to catch up with the treasure and cart it over to some tiny fortress. Mario tried to send a flying kick her way, but he was unsuccessful. The ninja snickered before sneaking away inside, out of view._

 _Kirby quickly went in after her, finding himself trapped in a room, which was filled to the brim with valuable treasures, such as gold and rubies. All of which were, unfortunately, in the background, out of reach. Somewhere in the corner of the room, the ninja mouse was waiting, armed with some sharp ninja claw weapon. She ran forwards, ready to strike. When she drew close, the room also began to fill with some bizarre, if not cute, enemy mice of various colors. None of them seemed to have feet, but they could hop around, and they had large, round ears… which they used to throw bombs._

 _Man… this game was putting Pikachu off meeting any fellow mice. Team Rocket were bad enough for their use of explosives, so he didn't need a member of his own species doing the same thing._

 _Kirby and the ninja battled fiercely. The puffball sliced at her many times with a hidden knife as she jumped around the room. He took large chunks off her health with each successful hit._

 _She returned the favor with some strikes of her own, occasionally hitting the puffball and making him lose his ability. Each time, Mario had to make Kirby chase after the star that represented it. However, the puffball took some heavy damage as a result, no thanks to the ninja and her minions, who continued to lob bombs around._

 _After losing his ninja ability for what felt like the third time, Mario changed his strategy, instead choosing to make Kirby inhale one of the small mice. Jumping to a lower platform after eating one, the puffball then fired it at the ninja mouse, making her drop her ninja claws._

 _Running closer, Kirby ate them, somehow gaining the Animal ability as a result, along with a brown furry beast suit. With that, he swiped at the mouse minions with his sharp claws. Being small, they could only take a single hit each before disappearing in a cloud of dust._

 _As the area cleared, Mario refocused his attention on the bigger mouse, who was far easier to deal with when alone. With just several claw swipes to the face, she finally lost the fight, falling to the ground and exploding into sparkles. Seconds later, the treasure chest she'd stolen was left behind._

 _Mario wiped some sweat from his brow. "Mama mia… that was-a one spicy mushroom," he said, taking a gulp from his drink._

 _"[No kidding…]" Pikachu replied. "[Oh, well. Plain sailing now, huh?]"_

 _Mario made Kirby pick up the treasure chest, which was then safely stored in the bottom screen. "That's-a so true… but I think that's all I've got-a the energy for today. Ol' Mario's beat after so many stages of-a this."_

 _Pikachu beamed. "[Ooh, can I try, then?]"_

 _The plumber smiled and handed the DS over. "Oho, absolutely! In fact, I have an earlier stage that-a still has one of the unopened treasure boxes. Do you want to take a shot-a?"_

 _Smiling wider, Pikachu took the DS. "[Oh, you betcha, thanks!]"_

 _"No problem! Good-a luck!"_

* * *

 _Making Kirby enter a new area in the first stage of Jam Jungle, Pikachu exhaled slowly. He hadn't found the undiscovered chest in this stage yet, but he was busy exploring every nook and cranny until he did. Well, kind of, anyway. Mario had told him that he didn't need to be as absolutely thorough as he had been… but still, he kept a watchful eye._

 _Kirby currently had the Cutter ability, which came with a yellow hat with wings, a blade on the top and eyes. It kind of reminded Pikachu of the stuff he'd find in the Mushroom Kingdom, seeing as everything there seemed to have eyes, including hills and clouds. Something that creeped the mouse out every time he visited._

 _He made Kirby throw a cutter boomerang at an enemy in his way, which was a waddle dee with a giant eyeball. Upon defeating it, he moved forwards, breaking through a small wall of blocks as he went._

 _After making sure to destroy the entirety of the blocks, mostly to see if there were any hidden goodies, he jumped into a small grotto of vines and leaves. As he made a move to explore, however, the screen scrolled to the right to reveal some big evil dog thing with ears for arms. Ugh, this game was obsessed with its ears for arms…_

 _"Oh no! It's-a the boxing boxer dog!" Mario exclaimed after swallowing some of his shake. "I was-a fighting him for a while before you came over here. He's-a so tough!"_

 _Pikachu grimaced. Mario was a fairly good gamer, so that wasn't reassuring to hear. Before he could respond, however, the dog went on the assault, running towards Kirby._

 _Yelping in surprise, Pikachu made Kirby jump over the dog and puff up to safely float out of reach. However, the dog jumped high into the air, smacking into him and making him drop to the ground while losing his ability._

 _His star representing his ability bounced around the stage aimlessly. In a panic, Pikachu sent Kirby after the thing to eat it and regain it before it disappeared into oblivion. However, he was stopped by the dog, who grabbed him, tossed him into the air, and clapped both ears into him. Kirby sprawled to the ground afterwards, heavily damaged. Getting up, he made another attempt at regaining his ability, only to be interrupted again, this time by a punch to the face._

 _Realistically, he should have been sent flying, though, because of game logic, he only rolled backwards slightly before getting back on his feet. A small comfort, because his ability had disappeared into a cloud of dust. Drat!_

 _The boxing dog began to hop up and down randomly, giving Pikachu time to create some space between the two fighters. Once a comfortable distance away, he made an attempt to study the patterns of the mini-boss, hoping to find some openings. However, the dog stopped hopping to hold both ears together, seemingly charging something. Then, pushing both ears forward, he fired out a force of red energy. It shot towards Kirby, slamming into him and making him lose even more health._

 _"[Holy heck, did he just fire a **hadoken** at me!?]" Pikachu exclaimed. "[What is this, Mortal Street Fighter, or whatever!?]"_

 _"I know, right?" Mario replied. "It's-a pretty ridicolo."_

 _Pikachu tried to regain his composure, only for the dog to take a huge leap forwards. He landed on Kirby, causing his health to go dangerously low as a result. Oh no, no, no… Pikachu didn't want to lose one of Mario's precious lives! Especially not to some wannabe martial artist!_

 _Noticing a small star left behind by the boxer's jump - something that often formed in Kirby games after an enemy's particularly strong attack - Pikachu made Kirby inhale it, turn around, and shoot it back at the dog._

 _It hit him square in the face, taking a fair chunk off his health. Unfortunately, it only encouraged him to run forwards, grab the puffball and squish him with another overhead clap. Pikachu's blood drained from his face upon hearing a familiar tune, which signified Kirby's untimely death._

 _"Oh, mama mia…" Mario groaned, putting down his empty cup. "Another life-a taken by the bad-a boxer…"_

 _Pikachu's ears drooped. "[Aww, man…]" He gave Mario a sorry look. "[I was supposed to help you out, and because of that dumb dog, I just screwed you out of a life. Sorry…]"_

 _The plumber chuckled and pat him on the back. "Hey, don't-a worry! It's-a like **my** games! It gives you millions of-a the 1-ups."_

 _Pikachu cheered up slightly, though he still frowned to himself. "[Well… still. It's the principle of the matter!]"_

 _"Oh, well no worries! Why don't-a you try again?"_

 _Pikachu looked up at him hopefully. "[Oh, can I?]" He beamed as Mario nodded._

 _"Absolute-a-ly!" the plumber replied, giving him a thumbs up._

 _"[Oh, well, then… don't mind if I do!]"_

 _"Fantastico! Best of-a luck!" Mario chimed getting off his seat. "In the mean-a time, I'm gonna get a drink. Want one, too?"_

 _Pikachu smiled. "[Oh, sure! One-a orange juice, please!]" He blinked as Mario laughed at him. Realizing what he'd said, his face warmed. "[Oh no… it finally happened. I'm becoming Italian.]"_

 _Still chuckling, the plumber pat him on the back. "I'm-a not complaining! Soon, my game, Super Mario 64, will-a be true to the name. All I need is sixty two more Marios for the collection!"_

 _Pikachu chuckled along with him. "[Yeah, yeah. We'll-a see about that.]"_

 _Laughing some more, Mario went inside the building, leaving Pikachu alone on the balcony. Buckling down, the mouse frowned determinedly at the DS' screen, eyeing up the entrance leading to the small arena. This time, he was going to work some magic!_

* * *

Pikachu continued to stare at the dog across the picnic blanket. He felt every drop of blood in his veins go into subzero temperatures as his memories set in. No… freaking… _way!_ Was this him? That dog of _death!?_ What in Master Hand's name was he doing here, being Buneary's father!?

Sweat began to pool on the mouse's head. Oh, good lord. So he was dating that freaking disaster dog's little girl. How swell! Pikachu couldn't believe he hadn't noticed earlier… though it was most likely because he'd been trying to block that horrible memory out. All those lost lives… all those headaches… spending so long trying to beat the guy that he'd almost missed his arrival in Sinnoh, much to Ash's panic… It'd been a frigging train wreck of a day, thanks to Box Boxer. So to have him here, now…

He jolted as the dog looked up in his direction. "Huh… you're lookin' a mite shaken there, son. You alright?" he asked.

Blinking, Pikachu smiled as widely as possible. "[Oh, haha! No, it's nothing! Don't worry about it!]" he said, trying to avoid having his voice nervously crack.

"[Oh no, Pikachu, what's wrong?]" Buneary asked, frowning concernedly. "[Ya look like you've seen a marowak's ghost…]"

"[I… I-I…]" He swallowed. "[… I ruffled the blanket.]"

She gave him an odd look. "[That all? Really?]"

He exhaled slowly. "[Er... I ruffled it up really badly, yeah.]"

Box Boxer eyed up the picnic blanket in front of the mouse. "Huh… yeah, Ah reckon that's a pretty messed up blanket ya got, there."

Pikachu rubbed the back of his head. "[Y-Yeah…]"

Buneary clicked her tongue and wrapped an arm around him comfortingly. "[Oh, Hon'… Ya worry about the silliest things, sometimes…]"

"[W-Well… y'know. Eheh…]"

"Yeah, don't worry, lil' pardner," Box Boxer added. "Ah don't care none for tidiness. After all, Ah come from a messy jungle!"

"[Well… that's good. Thanks…]"

"[Here ya go,]" Buneary said, handing Pikachu a glass of orange juice. "[Now, no more worryin'… alright?]"

"[Y-Yeah, I'll try. Eheh…]" Pikachu replied before taking a big swig. It was hard to resist taking an even bigger one.

Satisfied, Buneary turned away to talk to her father again. Her father who was a frigging near-impossible to beat _miniboss_ from the Kirby series.

Pikachu mentally sighed. Just what had he signed up for?

* * *

 **T** **O BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

 **Finished:** 20/03 (March)/2017

 **Word count:** 5,564

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** Aww _snap!_ Does this mean that Buneary's got Dreamland blood in her? And Dreamland miniboss blood, at that? Does this mean the picnic's fated to be a disaster!? Tune in next time for more answers to these questions and more! Maybe! :D

Seriously, though. Have you guys ever seen Box Boxer? I'm pretty sure Game Freak ripped him off when they invented Buneary's species. The resemblance is so uncanny. It's kind of like if bunearys had both a male-only evolution and a really girly one that could be either gender. Just like a certain other pokémon species…

 **Shameless self-promotion:** If you review, favourite and/or follow, Mario will let you play on his DS next. (Disclaimer: Not really. Wario stole it years ago.)

 ** _Fun mistakes of the day: #1_** _'Everyone, including Ash and **their monkey friend,** were inside the ship.'_

 _(Who? Donkey Kong?)_

 ** _#2: 'Hre_** _flicked it forwards'_

 _(There's a character in a show me and me girlfriend watch called Holy Roman Empire (Holy Rome for short). Is this him thinking of his shipping?)_

 ** _#3:_** _'Eh, Pikachu was hard to tell, sometimes.'_

 _(He's hard to tell, is he? I didn't know Game-Changer Pikachu was a character in this!)_

 ** _#5:_** _'It was almost **ike** walking into one of Marth or Roy's games.'_

 _(Oh no… Ike isn't satisfied with just having one Fire Emblem game, so he's going to steal some from his friends, too. I wonder if they'll still fight for him…)_

 ** _#6:_** _"[Not-a bad Mario]"_

 _(That Mario was a pretty good one, apparently.)_

 ** _#7:_** _'Mario chose to make him discard his fire ability to eat a ninja instead, **becoming one himself as a result.'**_

 _(The way it's written makes it sound like Mario became a ninja after Kirby ate one. Makes me wish Mario had a ninja power-up in his games! But nope. Instead, here's Flying Squirrel Mario!)_

 ** _#8:_** _'Kirby quickly went in after her, finding **herself** trapped in a room'_

 _(Kirby ate a woman and became sex change Kirby, apparently!)_

 ** _#9:_** _'Man… this game was putting Pikachu off **putting** any fellow mice.'  
(Oh no! Now Pikachu will never play mouse golf!)_

 ** _#10:_** _'Mario changed his strategy, instead choosing to eat one of the small mice.'_

 _(Oh dear… RIP In Peace, Pichu)_

 ** _#11:_** _'The **box** began to hop up and down randomly,'_

 _(Solid Snake's getting too excited. He's gonna get caught, for sure!)_

 ** _#12:_** _'Pikachu's ears **dropped.** ' _

_(That can't be good. I wonder if Buneary will still find him sexy, now he's lost his ears…)_

 ** _#13:_** _'Mario replied, giving him a thumbs up as **he got off.** '_

 _(He began to think of Princess Peach and sexy cake again. Naughty Mario!)_

 **#14:** What in Master Hand's name was he doing here, being **Buneaty's** father!?

(Buneary's new name for when she gets too fat, I guess!)

Alrighty, with that… I am off. Thank you, ravengal, for the beta read… and thank _you_ for reading! It's appreciated, mates! :P If you ever notice any mistakes, please lemmie know, alright? As you can see, I make plenty. XD

Tata for now! c:


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